Pictures of the Week (slideshow)

Google aims to change the way we watch television, CNET has big news on appliance reviews, and Earth gets photographed from nearly 900 million miles away. It's all part of the tech Pictures of the Week.

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Google's Chromecast

Plug it into the back of any TV with an HDMI port and the Google Chromecast provides easy access to streaming video. The device went on sale for just $35 in the U.S. on Wednesday, with availability in other countries to follow. As of Friday, Chromecast was sold out on all three official online retail outlets -- Best Buy, Amazon and the Google Play store.

Dinosaur tail unearthed

Paleontologists from Mexico's National Institute for Anthropology and History (INAH) and National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) brushed away sand and gravel for nearly 20 days, slowly revealing a record 50 connected vertebrae on the 16-foot tail.

Earth from 900M miles away

The Cassini spacecraft has returned new photos of Earth, taken from nearly 900 million miles away.

In this rare image, taken on July 19, 2013, the wide-angle camera on Cassini shows Saturn's rings with Earth visible as a tiny point of light in the background. The spacecraft is part of a cooperative project between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency.

Photos like this are very rare, this is only the third time our planet has been photographed from the outer solar system. Cassini was able to take this image, NASA said, because the sun had temporarily moved behind Saturn from the spacecraft's point of view and most of its light had been blocked. Just like our eyes, the camera's extremely sensitive sensors can easily be damaged by looking directly toward the sun.

Google's Nexus 7 tablet

During the "Breakfast with Sundar Pichai" event in San Francisco earlier this week, Google unveiled its latest 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet. Compared with the original, the new model boasts more pixel density and an HD screen. It starts at $229.99 and is available for order in Google Play store.

Look what we're building

What's this warehouse? Well, we've been busy here at CNET working on a very exciting new project: appliance reviews like you've never seen them. We're going to be showing you the good, the bad, and the bottom line from a new home appliances testing facility under construction in Louisville, Kentucky.

An apelike robot

With a sophisticated lower-limb system that incorporates a 43-point pressure-sensor array, the iStruct apelike robot might be the next explorer to traverse the surfaces of distant planets.

The multilegged robot, developed by Germany's Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and the University of Bremen, shows the advantages of actuated multi-point-contact feet, using a suite of sensors to monitor precise movements of the foot and ankle structures.

The result is an advanced balance and locomotion system inspired by physiology, which gives the machine unusually natural movement. The robot can walk forward, backward, sideways, and diagonally, with smooth transitions.

A 10,000 sequin map pin

In the virtual world of Google Maps, you know where things are based on pins marking the spot, like a modern-day version of the "X" on a treasure map. Danish design group Ornduvald has orchestrated a Google Maps invasion of the real world by building a giant, glittery version of a map pin made from more than 10,000 large sequins.

Volvo sunshade charges with solar power

Designed for Volvo Auto Italia by Synthesis Design + Architecture, Buro Happold, and Fabric Images, the sunshade aims to let the car charge wherever it happens to find a parking spot in the sun. Called "Pure Tension," it's a portable pavilion that unfolds in a series of organic, parabolic curves embedded with photovoltaic panels for harvesting solar energy.